Category: Scouting in General

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News & Notes, November 2021

This month’s Scouting topics to be aware of:

Inviting new members to join your unit

It’s easy to invite new members to join. You can send them a link to follow, which will take them directly to register for your pack or troop. Just sign in to my.scouting.org, click Menu, then your unit number. Click Invitation Manager, then Copy URL. Paste this URL into your invitation email, and the prospective member will be taken to your registration page where the national (and, in most councils, local) registration fees will be collected. Note that starting in October, fees are also collected for the following year so you won’t need to collect again when you recharter.

And don’t forget to promptly follow up on leads that are generated from your “pin”. The unit Key 3 will get daily reminder e-mails when unanswered inquiries are pending. Continue reading “News & Notes, November 2021”

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News & Notes, October 2021

Information you need to know this month:

Online rechartering changes

Internet rechartering, version 2, is here. It’s more straightforward than the previous system. It works through the existing my.scouting portal. Unit Key 3 have access, and there’s no access code needed. Documents can be uploaded into the system.  Payment can be made online, and the chartered organization representative can approve the recharter application online. The Key 3 can Continue reading “News & Notes, October 2021”

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Guide to Advancement 2021

Guide to AdvancementThe Boy Scouts of America’s National Advancement Team has completed its biennial review and updates to the Guide to Advancement, BSA’s canonical reference to all things related to advancement.

First published in its current form in 2011 and updated every two years since, the Guide has chapters covering all aspects of advancement across all the BSA’s programs. In the past, updates have been quietly published with little fanfare, but in recent years – and especially with changes necessitated in the last year or so – there’s been more publicity surrounding its release. So you’ve probably heard or read about some of the changes.

Just in case you haven’t, though, here’s a quick rundown: Continue reading “Guide to Advancement 2021”

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Fees to rise again

The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America has announced another in what has become an annual increase in membership fees.

Effective August 1, 2021, the fee for an individual Scout in traditional programs (Cub Scouts, ScoutsBSA and Venturing) along with Sea Scouting will increase from $66 to $72. Adult volunteers and those in the Exploring program will see a rise from $42 to $45. The one-time joining fee will remain at $25, and the annual charter fee stays at $75. BSA has provided an infographic explaining the new fee structure.

The three-year fee increase progression was not unanticipated. Continue reading “Fees to rise again”

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The best way to help? Don’t.

A Scout is Helpful. It’s right there in the Scout Law. Number three. A Scout cares about other people. He willingly volunteers to help others without expecting a reward.

Except… when helping someone takes away an opportunity for them to help themselves.

Of course we want to help. But as we know, helping others doesn’t mean doing their work for them. You wouldn’t “help” your child by doing her homework, would you?

Much of the time, we are tempted to just jump in, grab the wheel and take care of a task ourselves if we feel it’s expedient, or we know how to do it better. Continue reading “The best way to help? Don’t.”